Weft stop-motion for shutteless looms

ABSTRACT

A weft stop-motion device is provided for a shuttleless loom with a continuous weft feed not requiring any positioning member for positioning of the weft. The control of the weft is effected from the opposite side of the feed without necessitating any cyclically operating electrical device. The weft stop-motion device is positioned at a fixed point on the loom frame and comprises a freely pivotable unrestrained needle which is bent at the middle to form two arms. The pivot of the needle is fixed to a lever arranged to actuate a microswitch. The end of one arm of the needle constitutes a feeler to contact the weft thread. The end of the other arm has a hook arranged to be engaged by a beak attached to a support on the sley, at the end of the stroke of the sley. If the feeler is not held in raised position due to the absence of weft thread, the hook is drawn by the beak, which tilts the lever, actuates the microswitch and so stops the loom.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Albert Deborde Bourgoin-Jallieu,France [21] Appl. No. 804,955 [22] Filed Mar. 6, 1969 v [45] PatentedMar. 16, 1971 [73] Assignee Ateliers Diederichs Societe AnonyneBourgoin-Jallieu (Isere), France [32] Priority Mar. 18, 1968 [3 3]France [31 1 49773 [54] WEFT STOP-MOTION FOR SHUTTELESS LOOMS 5 Claims,2 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 139/370 [51] Int. Cl D03d 51/34 [50] Field ofSearch 139/336,370, 374, 375, 377

[5 6] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 1,482,218 1/1924 Brooks139/372 3,260,283 7/1966 Svaty et a1.

Primary Eiaminer-Henry S. J audon Attorney-Waters, Roditi, Schwartz &Nissen microswitch. The end of one arm of the needle constitutes afeeler to contact the weft thread. The end of the other arm has a hookarranged to be engaged by a beak attached to a support on the sley, atthe end of the stroke of the sley. If the feeler is not held in raisedposition due to the absence of weft thread, the hook is drawn by thebeak, which tiltsthe lever, actuates the microswitch and so stops theloom.

Patented March 16, 1971 i I 3,570,551

I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented March 16, 1971 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WEFTSTOP-MOTION FOR SHUTTELESS LOOMS The present invention relates to a weftstop-motion device for shuttleless looms or looms operating with astationary weft supply.

The weft stop-motion device is a safety device indispensable for theefficient operation of any loom; and it consists of means for stoppingthe machine mechanically or electrically, when the weft thread breaks.

On looms with shuttles and pirns, the control of the weft is effected,either in the middle of the sley by a horizontal fork which may or maynot be held back by the weft, or on the outside of the breadth of thecloth by a vertical fork which may or may not be pushed back by theweft.

n shu-ttleless looms with direct feed from a laterally placed bobbin,approaches are equally possible:

1. to control the weft over the length of the latter which is betweenthe bobbin and the member called the weft feed; or

2. to control the weft at its end which is opposite the dis tributor.

The first approach cannot be suitable for a shuttless loom of the"Gabler type, that is to say for the development of a loop of which oneend is held at the feed side. In fact, in this case,

the weft is only controlled at the moment of unwinding on the spool and,due to this fact, the part of the loop which is developed is notcontrolled. It is hence indispensable to control the end of the loopwhich is developed.

This control is operated generally by presenting before the weft avertical fork pivoting around its upper end, this fork, pushed back bythe weft, causing a stop device to operate. However, this fork must bemounted on a device enabling it to descend to be presented before theweft and to reascend after the control to free the separator comb.

In order to avoid a permanent arrest of the machine, the electricalcurrent necessary on the arrest actuation must be distributed only atthe moment of the control of the weft, which necessitates a cycliccontactor actuated by a cam.

it is an object of. the present invention to provide a weft stop-motiondevice which obviates these drawbacks.

it is a further object of the invention to provide a weft stopmotiondevice which does not comprise, in fact, any displacement of theassembly nor of the-cyclic control, for the arrest of the machine.

The weft stop-motion device according to the invention is essentiallycharacterized in that it is composed of a needle mounted to pivot at theend of the lever of a microswitch fixed on the frame of the machine,this needle being sent to bent to comprise two reeds of which one formsa feeler and the other constitutes, at its end, a hook which, in thecase of the breakage of the weft, is at the end of the stroke of thesley, drawn by it, which causes actuation of the microswitch.

in order that the invention may be more fully understood, one embodimentof a weft stop-motion device according to the invention is describedbelow, purely by way of an illustrative example, with reference to theaccompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view in elevation of the said embodiment showing therelationship between the microswitch, the weft, the sley, and the meansfor actuating the microswitch; and

FIG. 2 is a front view, also in elevation, of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

. 0n the frame 1 of the loom is fixed a support 2 on which is mounted amicroswitch 3 held on the said support 2 by means of bolts 4.

The lever 5 of the microswitch showing the relationship between themicroswitch, the weft, the sley, and means for actuating the microswitch3 supports at its end a needle 6 pivotally mounted freely around an axle7 rigidly attached to the lever 5. This needle 6 is formed by two sidesone, of which is directed downward and bent at its end at 60 tofacilitate its support on the weft 8 to be controlled, while the otheris nearer to the horizontal position and its end 6!; forms a hook tocooperate with the beak 10 of a support 1 which is clamped on the sley9. When the weft is deposited m the shed,

the sley 9 advances along the direction of the arrow and causes the endof the weft 8 to pass under the lower side 6a of the needle 6. Due tothis fact, the hook 6b of the horizontal reed of the needle is heldraised and passes above the beak 10 by pivoting around the axle 7.

On the contrary, if for any reason, the weft 8 cannot reach the side 6aof the control needle, the latter is not deflected and its beak 10,which follows the advancing movement of the sley 9, engages and drawsthe lever 5 of the microswitch by means of the hooked'side 6b of theneedle 6. The electrical stop circuit is thus actuated and the machineis stopped.

It will be apparent that various changes and modifications may be madein the embodiment described without departing from the essential conceptof the invention.

Iclaim:

l. In a loom having a sley and in which successive wefts are insertedinto successive warp sheds, the improvement comprising control means forarresting the operation of the loom upon sensing the absence of a weft,said control means comprising switching means for stopping said loom,and sensing means controlling said switching means in response to thepresence or absence of said weft in said sleds, said sensing meansincluding a first portion freely connected pivotally to said switchingmeans, a second portion of for sensing each inserted weft to determineits presence in a shed, and a third portion for contacting said sleyupon failure of said second portion to sense a weft and, through saidfirst portion, causing said switching means to arrest the operation ofthe loom.

2. In a loom as claimed in claim 1, wherein said switching meansincludes a microswitch and a lever pivotally supported opposite saidmicroswitch and a lever pivotally supported opposite said microswitch,said lever including a pair of arms, one of said arms being engageablewith said microswitch, the other of said arms pivotally supporting saidfirst portion of said sensing means.

3. In a loom as claimed in claim 1, wherein said sensing means includesa pair of arms constituting said second and third portions thereofrespectively, said first portion thereof being intermediary a said twoarms.-

4. in a loom as claimedin claim 1, wherein said sensing means issubstantially U-shaped.

5. in a loom as claimed in claim 1, wherein said sley includes aprojection, said arm constituting said third portion of said sensingmeans including a hook-shaped gripping portion adapted for contractingsaid projection of said sley to be pulled thereby.

1. In a loom having a sley and in which successive wefts are insertedinto successive warp sheds, the improvement comprising control means forarresting the operation of the loom upon sensing the absence of a weft,said control means comprising switching means for stopping said loom,and sensing means controlling said switching means in response to thepresence or absence of said weft in said sleds, said sensing meansincluding a first portion freely connected pivotally to said switchingmeans, a second portion of for sensing each inserted weft to determineits presence in a shed, and a third portion for contacting said sleyupon failure of said second portion to sense a weft and, through saidfirst portion, causing said switching means to arrest the operation ofthe loom.
 2. In a loom as claimed in claim 1, wherein said switchingmeans includes a microswitch and a lever pivotally supported oppositesaid microswitch and a lever pivotally supported opposite saidmicroswitch, said lever including a pair of arms, one of said arms beingengageable with said microswitch, the other of said arms pivotallysupporting said first portion of said sensing means.
 3. In a loom asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said sensing means includes a pair of armsconstituting said second and third portions thereof respectively, saidfirst portion thereof being intermediary a said two arms.
 4. In a loomas claimed in claim 1, wherein said sensing means is substantiallyU-shaped.
 5. In a loom as claimed in claim 1, wherein said sley includesa projection, said arm constituting said third portion of said sensingmeans including a hook-shaped gripping portion Adapted for contractingsaid projection of said sley to be pulled thereby.